Using the Past to Step Forward

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome in the Western Cape Province of South Africa

Dados Bibliográficos

ID11033751
AutoresJake McKinstry (At the time the editorial was written, the author was a Master of Science candidate in Urban Planning at Columbia University’s School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation, New York, NY., autor correspondente)
Ano2005
Volume95
Fascículo7
Páginas1097-1099
Data de publicação2005-07-01
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessNão
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoAmerican Journal of Public Health (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 0090-0036 • E-ISSN: 1541-0048
EditoraAmerican Public Health Association (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.2105/ajph.2004.056366
PMID15983266
PMCIDPMC1449323
OpenAlexW2104731731
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas6
Referências citadas6

While the AIDS epidemic in South Africa has been well publicized and documented in recent years a lesser-known health crisis with profound socioeconomic implications has been developing for hundreds of years. The Western Cape Province of South Africa has the highest rates of fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) in the world. FAS is caused by maternal alcohol use during pregnancy and is one of the leading causes of preventable mental and physical retardation among infants worldwide. Infants suffering from FAS often have low birthweights; physical dysmorphology most notably in the face and head; and developmental difficulties. The most recent statistics on FAS rates in the Western Cape Province reported by the National Institute of Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse show that 40.5 to 46.4 per 1000 children are found by screening to have FAS. Compare this rate with a FAS frequency of 0.5 to 2.0 per 1000 children in the United States or the average rate of 0.97 per 1000 children in the developed world and the difference is staggering. (excerpt)

Archaeology · Biology · Cape · Environmental health · Fetal alcohol syndrome · Geography · Pregnancy · Socioeconomics · Sociology · Demography · Gestational Diabetes Research and Management · Homelessness and Social Issues · Medicine · Prenatal Substance Exposure Effects